By Claire Reilly
Regional Australia is coming off as the biggest loser following the collapse of the Game retail chain and last Friday's announcement that the company would be forced to close two thirds of its Australian shopfronts.
The administrators have released a full list of stores that are to be closed and, aside from a few regional stores, most of the stores that will remain open are in larger metropolitan and city areas. Indeed, the only remaining stores outside Australia’s capital cities are in Bathurst (NSW) and Greenhills, near Newcastle (NSW).
Current.com.au understands that the store closures are expected to take place over the coming days, and that there have been approximately 30 expressions of interest for the purchase of closed stores. These expressions of interest will need to be resolved before the second meeting of creditors, which PricewaterhouseCoopers administrators have said is set to take place on or around 17 July 2012.
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The full list of store closures, provided by PwC, is as follows:
NSW (23): Albury, Armidale, Ballina, Castle Hill, Charlestown, Eastgardens, Grafton, Griffith, Hornsby, Kotara, Lakehaven, Lismore, Manning Mall Taree, Narellan, Orange, Port Macquarie, Riverside Mall Queanbeyan, Tamworth, Tweed City, Warrawong, Warringah Mall, Wollongong.
Queensland (13): Cairns Central, Cairns Smithfield, Cairns Stockland, Calamvale, Capalaba, Kingaroy, Loganholme, Kawana, Morayfield, Robina, Toowoomba, Townsville, Willows Shoppingtown (Thuringowa).
Victoria (12): Bayside Frankston, Bendigo, Broadmeadows, Camberwell, Cheltenham, Epping Plaza, Greensborough, Knox City, Shepparton, Watergardens, Wendouree, Werribee.
Western Australia (8): Armadale, Forrest Chase, Gateway, Innaloo, Joondalup, Kingsway, Mandurah, Midland Gate.
South Australia (3): Arndale, Marion, Renmark.
ACT (1): Canberra Centre.
Remaining Stores
NSW (18): Bankstown, Bathurst, Blacktown, Broadway, Campbelltown, Casula, Greenhills, Hurstville, Liverpool, Macarthur Square, Miranda, Mt Druitt, Parramatta, Penrith, Plumpton, Rouse Hill, St Marys, Windsor.
Queensland (2): Helensvale, Strathpine.
Victoria (2): Eastland, Melton.
Western Australia (2): Carousel, Rockingham.
South Australia (4): Collonades, Elizabeth, Munno Para, Tea Tree Plaza.
ACT (3): Belconnen, Gungahlin, Tuggeranong.
NT (1): Casuarina.